Hydroforming technology is used to form various components for use in automotive vehicles such as frame members. Many frame members are tubular in shape with a rectangular cross-section. These members are shaped in a hydroform apparatus to have a generally tubular shape. After the preliminary shaping, the tube member is removed from the apparatus, usually a die, for further machining, processing or fabricating. The tube is trimmed to have the desired length in a separate operation. The length is established by laser cutting, plasma cutting or mechanical shearing outside of the hydroforming die.
These operations employ additional fixtures to accomplish the machining, processing or fabrication. The operation also requires additional handling of the tube for transportation from the hydroforming die to the shearing equipment. Both of these added requirements increase the manufacturing cost and time.
Unless the forming and the shearing operations are equal in length of time, more expense is incurred. If the shearing operation is slower, the tubes must be inventoried or the hydroforming apparatus will have down time. If the forming process is slower, the shearing apparatus will have down time.